End of Life Ethical and Legal Issues, Essay Example

Ethical and/or Legal Issues

The ethical and legal issues surrounding both the Karen Ann Quinlan and the Terri Schiavo cases put health care agencies and providers under enormous pressure determining whether or not the person wants to end his/her life.  The legal ramifications are documented online for both cases.  Both involved the government’s role in terminally ill patients and their right to die (Fine, 2005).  In the Shiavo Case, Ms.  Shiavo left no advance directive, yet according to her husband, her wish would have been not to be kept alive artificially.  The case went to court and both George W and his brother Jeb Bush were deciding on her fate (TIME.com, 2015).  Ultimately, after Jeb Bush ordered that the feeding tube be replaced, then President George W Bush decided to let the case be heard before the Supreme Court.

Following a couple of decades after the Karen Ann Quinlan case (which ended up the same way as this one), the Right to Die movement (as it is called) has won the battle to keep government out of a person’s dying wishes (McFadden, 2015).  One of the main medical issues facing those charged with a terminally ill patient’s care is that doctors and other caregivers are so fearful of being sued for malpractice that they shy away from following any directives from the patient’s family (who may or may not really know what the patient really wants when it comes to end of life decisions).

My Rationale

As a Christian, my faith teaches me that under no circumstances can we mere mortals take the life of another human being no matter how merciful it may be.  Only God determines how long our stay is on this earthly plain. “Thou shalt not kill” is a commandment from God and He expects us to obey his commands.  The government has not right to step in and interfere with a person’s medical care…that is clear.  As a Christian, I am opposed to government interference and disagree with mercy killing.

References

Fine, R. (2005). From Quinlan to Schiavo: medical, ethical, and legal issues in severe brain injury. Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center), 18(4), 303. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1255938/

McFadden, R. (2015). Karen Ann Quinlan, 31, Dies; Focus Of ’76 Right To Die Case. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 November 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/12/nyregion/karen-ann-quinlan-31-dies-focus-of-76-right-to-die-case.html?pagewanted=all

TIME.com,. (2015). How Terri Schiavo Shaped the Right-to-Die Movement. Retrieved 21 November 2015, from http://time.com/3763521/terri-schiavo-right-to-die-brittany-maynard/